Red Haze
by SironaFlett .o.x.o
Summary: "Red John alright." He said. "Their names are Angela and Charlotte Jane. Patrick Jane – the spouse and father - found them last night after returning from a show."


Teresa Lisbon walked slowly through the house of the murder victims, taking in as much as she could. She walked up the stairs just as the coroners zipped up the body-bags and led them away. Kimball Cho followed her, patiently with a notebook and pen in hand. Lisbon scanned the corridor before entering the room on the end, where a large blood red face loomed out. Cho had unpinned a letter from the door and was now bagging it as evidence.

"Damn," Lisbon muttered. She pulled out her cell phone. "Minelli? It's Lisbon… Yeah. It's Red John alright."

Minelli swore at the other end.

"Don't worry. My team will deal with it," Lisbon tried to reassure her boss. She was lying. No one, in his whole 10 years, had ever been able to find a solid piece of evidence to find the sadistic murderer. Minelli was swearing some more before giving an order and hanging up. Lisbon rolled her eyes and went towards Wayne Rigsby who was talking to the coroner.

"Well?" She asked.

Rigsby sighed. "Red John alright." He said. "Their names are Angela and Charlotte Jane. Patrick Jane – the spouse and father - found them last night after returning from a show."

"He's a presenter?" Asked Lisbon. "How come I've never heard of him?"

"He does all that weird psychic crap." Rigsby shrugged.

"Okay. I'll go talk to him, see if anything happened that might have provoked this. Get in touch with the FBI let them know that Red John is killing again. When you've done that, interview the victims families and friends. Maybe there is a motive behind it all that has nothing to do with Red John."

"You think that it could be a copy-cat killer?" Rigsby asked, folding his arms as he followed Lisbon down the stairs back into the main room of the large stately home.

"No." Lisbon replied. "But I want to check. Just in case. Leave no stone unturned. I want results. Now. Where is Mr Jane?"

Rigsby pointed towards a tall man wearing a clean cut suit that was dishevelled and covered in blood. His blond hair sat wildly over his face and he seemed to be completely motionless. His hands were clenched tightly and his jaw was twitching.

"Mr Jane?" Lisbon asked. He did not look up. Lisbon doubted if he even registered that someone was talking to him. "Mr Jane, I'm with the CBI, I'm going to try and solve your wife and child's murder."

Mr Jane's jaw continued to twitch as two tears spread from his eyes. Lisbon took a step back. She wasn't great with emotion. She nervously pulled out a tissue and handed it to him. He didn't register that either.

Lisbon sighed. "Cho!"

The agent was at her side in an instant. "Boss?"

"Could you take Mr Jane to the office?" Lisbon asked. "Maybe not being here will help."

Cho nodded before moving towards the man. "Mr Jane, I'm Kimball Cho. Will you please come with me?"

Mr Jane blinked. His voice crackled. "Where are we going?"

"To the CBI offices." Cho replied.

"Why?" Mr Jane asked.

"So we can talk to you in private." Cho said. "Away from here."

"No." Jane replied. "No… I want to stay here."

"Sir," Cho said, keeping a steady jaw. "If you do not come with me, then I have the right to arrest you."

Jane looked up. He held up his wrists. "Then go on." He whispered. "I killed them."

Cho raised his eyebrows. "No you didn't."

"How do you know?" Jane snapped.

"A guilty man would have run by now." Cho replied.

"I might as well have been the one to kill them…" Jane placed his head in his hands.

"Sir, like I suggested, we should talk about this at CBI headquarters."

Jane did not move. Cho looked over at Lisbon, who had been watching the entire time. She shook her head and he moved off. Jane remained motionless. Still. He had not broken down yet. Lisbon was getting worried. She sighed and sat down beside him.

"Okay," She said. "Do you want to tell me about what happened before and when you found them?"

Jane cleared his throat, but didn't look up, still staring intently at the floor. "I was at… I was at a talk-show. I had just finished. Live broadcast. I came home. It's a long drive… I saw that note on the door… Then that face. That face-"

Lisbon put a tentative hand on the grieving man's shoulder.

"She wasn't moving." Jane whispered. "Why weren't they moving?"

"Mr Jane, I have reason to believe that you are a psychic?" Lisbon asked.

"There are no such things as psychics." Jane replied bitterly.

"Have you got someone to go to?" Lisbon asked. "Family and friends?"

"Yes." Jane replied stiffly.

Lisbon couldn't help but feel that he was lying.

…

"Lesson one in TV broadcasting," Rigsby said, sitting down with a coffee opposite Lisbon. "Don't taunt a serial killer on TV."

"That would seem like the smart thing to do." Lisbon said. "Are you eating my lunch?"

Rigsby checked the label. "Oh, sorry boss. I thought it was mine."

"Never mind. You just owe me a sandwich when you get the chance." Lisbon replied. "Okay, here's when Mr Jane starts taunting Red John." She hit the play of the VCR and the tape started to roll. Patrick Jane obviously seemed to know what he was talking about, Lisbon thought.

"What do you think boss?" Rigsby asked.

"I think that he was stupid and ignorant. And you really shouldn't taunt a serial killer on TV." Lisbon replied. "Anything show up on forensics?"

"De nada," Cho said, opening the file. "But we did find some hair that belonged to Jane on the victim."

"Alright. Bring him in. Ask him about it." Lisbon said. "It's probably nothing but I want to make sure it's Red John before I hand over to the FBI."

Cho closed the file. "You're giving it to them?"

"They are better staffed, have better resources and frankly have the public support." Lisbon replied. "Unlike us, whom half the people don't know we exist."

"We need to get a website or something," Rigsby said.

"Pull him in." Lisbon said. "I'll talk to him. But it's pretty likely he didn't do it."

"How so? He could have used it to advance his career as a psychic." Cho said.

"An idea, but I don't think so." Lisbon replied. "He's a con man. Nothing more." She didn't tell them that the distraught man had told her that he wasn't a psychic. That he thought all psychics were basically frauds.

"Well get him in," Cho assured her before leaving.

Lisbon returned to her desk and opened the drawer. Her hand rested on a bottle of tequila before she shook her head and gathered a case file dedicated to Red John.

…

"What's with him?" Rigsby asked.

"Dunno." Cho replied. "He hasn't said a word since he got here."

"He's grieving." Lisbon defended.

"Or, he's hiding guilt." Cho said.

"Not our duty to judge." Lisbon said. "We're here to carry out an investigation and gather the facts. Not use our gut instinct." She gathered up the file on Mr Jane and went into the interview room. Jane sat looking haughty and sick. His hands clasped and hair messy as if it hadn't been washed in a couple of days.

"Mr Jane?" Lisbon said. "Do you remember me? I'm Teresa Lisbon. The cop you talked to at your home?"

Jane nodded. "I remember." He murmured. He didn't look at her.

Lisbon sat down. "I just need to clarify a few things," She said. "Then you're free to go. Okay?"

Behind the glass Cho and RIgsby shared a look. This wasn't normal boss behaviour.

Jane said nothing as Lisbon opened the file that she had been holding. "When you saw that your family was dead… What did you do? Before you called the police?"

Jane did not answer.

"Mr Jane?" Lisbon asked.

He still did not answer.

"Did you hold them?" Lisbon asked. "Did you try and wake them up?"

Jane blinked through a watery haze. He cleared his throat and nodded stiffly. Lisbon felt an wave of sympathy wash over her. He looked so broken.

"Mr Jane, we can get you psychiatric help if you need it." Lisbon said calmly.

Jane shook his head and dissolved behind his hands. Lisbon sighed. "Mr Jane?"

He looked up and rested his elbows on the table. Weakly, he let out a cry. Lisbon looked over at the mirror and shook her head. She looked back at him.

"Would you like a cup of tea or something?" She asked.

He shook his head. "No thank you."

Lisbon stood up and gently placed her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry for your loss." She said. Then with great difficulty, she left the man to mourn his family.


End file.
